System CLI Tools
Daily-driver CLI tools for Proxmox host administration, grouped by purpose: monitoring, network, file & text, performance analysis, security, remote admin and system configuration.
Most are installed by Post-Install
If you ran the ProxMenux Post-Install script with the default selections, the majority of these tools are already installed. For anything missing, ProxMenux's System Utilities Installer offers them as predefined groups (basic, dev, network, analysis, …).
System Monitoring
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| htop | Interactive process viewer with CPU/memory usage | |
| top | Display Linux processes in real-time | |
| atop | Advanced system & process monitor | |
| glances | System monitoring tool with web interface | |
| nmon | Performance monitoring tool | |
| iotop | Monitor disk I/O usage by processes | |
| vmstat 1 | Report virtual memory statistics every second |
Network Tools
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| iftop | Display bandwidth usage on an interface | |
| nmap <host> | Network exploration and security scanning | |
| tcpdump -i <interface> | Dump network traffic | |
| netstat -tuln | Display network connections | |
| ss -tuln | Another utility to investigate sockets | |
| mtr <host> | Network diagnostic tool combining ping and traceroute | |
| iperf3 -s | Run iperf server for bandwidth testing |
File and Text Tools
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| find / -name <filename> | Find files by name | |
| grep -r 'pattern' /path | Search for pattern in files | |
| sed -i 's/old/new/g' file | Replace text in files | |
| awk '{print $1}' file | Text processing tool | |
| tail -f /var/log/syslog | Follow log file in real-time | |
| less /var/log/messages | View file with pagination | |
| journalctl -f | Follow systemd journal logs |
Performance Analysis
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| iostat -x 1 | Report CPU and I/O statistics | |
| mpstat -P ALL 1 | Report CPU utilization | |
| perf top | System profiling tool | |
| strace <command> | Trace system calls and signals | |
| lsof | List open files | |
| pstree | Display process tree | |
| slabtop | Display kernel slab cache information |
Security Tools
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| fail2ban-client status | Show fail2ban status | |
| chage -l <username> | Show password expiry information | |
| lastlog | Show last login of all users | |
| last | Show listing of last logged in users | |
| w | Show who is logged on and what they are doing | |
| lynis audit system | Security auditing tool | |
| openssl s_client -connect host:port | Test SSL/TLS connections |
Remote Administration
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| ssh <user>@<host> | Secure shell connection | |
| scp <file> <user>@<host>:<path> | Secure copy files | |
| rsync -avz <src> <dest> | Synchronize files/folders | |
| screen | Terminal multiplexer | |
| tmux | Terminal multiplexer alternative | |
| ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 | Generate SSH key pair | |
| ssh-copy-id <user>@<host> | Copy SSH key to server |
System Configuration
| Command | Description | Action |
|---|---|---|
| systemctl status <service> | Check service status | |
| journalctl -u <service> | View service logs | |
| timedatectl | Control system time and date | |
| hostnamectl | Control system hostname | |
| localectl | Control system locale and keyboard | |
| update-alternatives --config <name> | Configure system alternatives | |
| dpkg-reconfigure <package> | Reconfigure an installed package |
Use tmux / screen for long-running commands
Anything that takes longer than a coffee break — a backup, a long upgrade, a big rsync — should run inside
tmux or screen. SSH disconnects don't kill the session, and you can re-attach from anywhere with tmux attach.Related
- System Utilities Installer — install any of these tools that are missing.
- Useful System Commands — Proxmox-specific inspection commands.
- Help and Info overview.